On behalf of the Primary Care Collaborative (PCC) and the PCC’s Better Health NOW campaign (BHN), we are pleased to support H.R. 9693, the Patients First Act of 2026. This legislation would strengthen patient access while offering much needed stability and flexibility with respect to primary care payment and clinician payment more broadly.
Read our full letter of support below.
Novant Health is now partnering with K Health to expand its primary care offerings, hospital officials said.
The new offerings will incorporate AI capabilities into enhanced virtual care experience, according to a Novant news release. The new offerings will include 24/7 access to patients across North Carolina and South Carolina.
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Primary care medics are designed to bolster the workforce by complementing physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician associates at primary care clinics.
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Texas faces the most severe health care strain in the United States, driven by the nation’s highest uninsured rate and a shortage of primary care physicians, according to the Health care Strain Index released by ConciergeMD.
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The US doctor shortage is no longer a distant concern, it is a trend backed by hard numbers. According to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the country could face a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. That is not a small number. It touches primary care, surgery, and specialty medicine all at once, and it comes at a time when the population is getting older and needing more care, not less.
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Unfortunately, comprehensive health care has become a luxury and privilege, when it should be a right and expectation for all. Amidst a physician shortage, too many patients across New York are struggling to find a doctor. Less than 25% of physicians in the state practice primary care. The most rural counties have four primary care doctors for every 10,000 people, less than half the state and national averages.
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When was the last time you went to the doctor?
Not necessarily for something big, not for a broken finger or the flu. Just a checkup. A regular annual visit to make sure everything is ok with your health.
For about a third of Americans, it’s probably been too long. In 2024, more than 100 million people did not have a regular primary doctor at all, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
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The Pathways to Health Careers Act would provide job training and support services as 32 of New Mexico’s 33 counties face shortages in primary, behavioral or dental care
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The numbers are sobering. More than 100 million Americans are estimated to lack a regular primary care provider, while the Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of as many as 40,400 primary care physicians by 2036. Those numbers are often presented as a workforce problem that we will eventually have to solve. From where I sit, however, this is not a future problem. It is already happening in doctors’ offices across the country. I see it every day.
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Subscription-based primary care could ensure access and an affordable healthcare system for all stakeholders, according to a proposal by longtime healthcare journalist and author Ken Terry. Terry spent 14 years as an editor at Medical Economics before becoming a freelance healthcare journalist. His first two books outlined a healthcare delivery model on the foundation of Medicare for all.
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